I Love You Just Not Enough
by tatsulokV2
Summary: She told him that she loved him, He told her that it just wasn't enough... She's beginning to think he's right. Love's just not enough anymore. Peyton/multi-character friendship Peyton/? romance
1. Intro

"What am I gonna do?" She wondered, her head rested on his shoulder, their backs against the foot of the bed as they sat on the floor, his arms wrapped around her. He stared at the top of her head, her blond curls the only thing he could see, the sound of her voice, broken and defeated seemed to echo throughout the silent room. She turned, lifting her head up to meet his eyes, and his heart broke for her. Her cheeks were stained with dried tears that she had refused to wipe away, while more tears threatened to fall from her green eyes.

"I don't know what to do without him."

She stared at him, lost and confused. And Nathan Scott never hated his brother more than he did at that moment.

But he moved then, maneuvering himself so that he was kneeling directly in front of her. He gave her a sad smile, lifting his hands up to cup her cheeks and using his thumbs to wipe away her tears. His eyes never left hers. "You're going to let him go, Sawyer. You're strong, you'll fight this and you'll win. You're going to live your dreams and you'll be happy, because you deserve to be. You had a life before Lucas, and you'll have a life after him, too. Okay?"

Peyton Sawyer smiled then, sure it was small and if he hadn't known her as long as he had he wouldn't be able to tell it was there.

"Okay."

He released a breath he hadn't known he was holding, glad that he had gotten through to her. Realizing that he was afraid he wouldn't be able to.

"Okay," he echoed, slipping his arms around her waist in a hug. He felt her arms snake around his neck and felt as her arms tightened; she was holding onto him for dear life.

"You're going to get through this," he assured her, "and you're not going to be alone either, all right? I'll be there. We all will. You better believe that, Sawyer."

"I... I do, Nate. I really do."

He nodded, squeezing her just a little. "Good. Let's get you to bed."


	2. One

"What, was he born stupid? Dropped on his head way too many times as a child, maybe?"

"You too, huh?" He chuckled, moving across the room and settling down onto the couch, the television set turned on in the background. Grabbing the remote control, he began flipping mindlessly through the numerous channels, not actually paying attention to whatever was on.

"He actually sent you an invitation?" The woman scoffed over the phone. "I understand that you're brothers, but you're hardly friends."

"Yeah, well, I don't understand a lot of things concerning the bastard."

She sighed. "Does she know?"

"What do you think?"

"Nathan-"

"He sent her an invitation, Brooke." Nathan Scott sighed, dropping the remote and running his free hand through his short hair. "It was in the mail this morning, addressed to her... I came straight here after finding mine- I kept hers and gave her the rest of her mail. I just... I couldn't let her see it."

"Look, Nate, we have to tell her."

"Four years, it's been four fucking years and she still hasn't gotten over him." He snapped into the phone. "We're leaving for Tree Hill in three days, Brooke. She's leaving her life in Los Angeles, which is a wonderful life, but you already know that, to move back to Tree Hill, where her life was nothing but heartache, disappointment, and memories of psycho-Derek, just to tell my ass of a brother that she's still in-love with him."

"Which is exactly why we have to tell her," Brooke insisted. "Nate, she's our best friend and we cannot let her go back to Tree Hill unprepared."

"If I have anything to do with it, she won't be going back to Tree Hill at all."

He blew out a breath of frustration. He didn't want to see his best friend hurt, once again, by the bastard-spawn known as Lucas Scott.

"You care about , I get that. I care about her, too, and I can give you a whole list naming other people in her life who care about her as well. You are not the only person who wants to shield that girl from getting hurt, and you are certainly not the only person who wants to see her happy." Brooke informed him, her tone of voice telling him not to interrupt.

"She survived the death of her mother, Anna, while her father chose his job over her. Sure, she absolutely adores Larry and understood that he was just trying to give her a good life, to support her financially, but he wasn't there for her as he should have been, as a father, when she needed him the most... When she was shot in the leg he wasn't there to wonder where in the hell his only daughter was, and when she was left bleeding in the school library he wasn't tearing his hair out in worry for his daughter's safety. Instead, he had gotten a call from her while she was still recovering in the hospital and she was lying to him when she said that she was fine.

"Fast forward to the summer this woman, this stranger shows up out of the blue and tells her that she is her mother. After finally letting her into her life, she goes to see her only to find her dead, and once again she's left to survive another tragedy: the death of her birth mother, Ellie.

"Next, she finds out that she has a brother. Finding the courage to call, she does so only to have him tell her not to call him again. But, only a few days after the call, there's another stranger waiting for her on her front porch, this time claiming to be her brother 'Derek', when in reality he's a total psycho, who had been stalking and taking pictures of her since stumbling upon her website and had been learning all there was to know about her through her podcasts. But, there is, at least, a happy ending to this story, even if it was a short one, the real Derek shows up and saves her from being a victim of rape. He stays long enough for her to stand again on her own and she almost believes that her motto, 'people always leave', doesn't always hold true, but, alas, he eventually leaves after being called into duty,

"Unfortunately for her, her troubles with 'Psycho-Derek' are not over and he returns, ruining things for her once again. Only this time, he's set on not only raping her, but he wants to kill her, too. She's tied and gagged in her basement while everyone is out trying to enjoy Prom night. And, unlike the last time, her real brother wasn't there to save her. Fortunately, though, you and I were curious and worried enough to check up on her, even if we hadn't been the best of friends to her at that time.

"Nathan, she has been through a lot of tragedies in her life. She was slipped a date-rape drug after your relationship with her ended for he final time, and she actually turned to drugs as an escape from all of the disappointments in her life.

"Aside from the death of her adoptive mother and her second dealings with 'Psycho-Derek', Lucas had been with her through everything. She has been in-love with him from the moment they first met, how can you expect for her to be over him when there was never any real closure to their relationship? He wrote a whole book about her, for God's sake."

"Because he left, all right, and now he's like every other son-of-a-bicth in Peyton's life."

"Sometimes they come back. We did, didn't we."

"It's different, okay? It's different because he fucking proposed to her and when she didn't immediately say 'yes', he took her answer for a no and he just fucking left her. No goodbye, no explanation. He just split. And what kills me is that she actually blames herself, Brooke. She blames herself for telling him that she loved him and that she did want to marry him someday. She blames herself for not tell him 'yes'.

"'Someday' is not a fucking 'no'!"

Nathan blinked at himself in surprise, realizing that he was actually yelling during his little speech. "Brooke, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled-"

"Apology accepted, but there was never really any need to do so. You just don't want her to get her, but Nathan, if we don't tell her and she finds out on her own, it won't only be Lucas hurting her, it'll be us, too."

"How do we tell her that the love of her life is getting married, without breaking her heart again, Brooke?"

Something shattered behind him and Nathan whipped around in surprise. Peyton stood there, eyes and mouth open.

"Lucas is getting married?"


	3. Two

"I'll call you back," Nathan muttered into his cellphone before flipping the device closed and shoving it into his pants pocket. "Peyton-"

"He's getting married!" Her voice rose to a shriek and Nathan winced.

"Peyton-"

Again he was interrupted.

"He can't be getting married, Nate. He can't! We're supposed to be flying to Tree Hill and I'm supposed to tell him that I still love him and that someday is now and that I do want to marry him... We're supposed to be together, we're 'True Love Always'... He's not... He's not supposed to marry some other girl!"

She was crying now, tears that she hadn't shed in well over two years freely flowed down her cheeks. And Nathan's heart dropped at the sight of them... He moved towards her, stepping over the puddle of water and broken glass, and pulled her into his arms. He rubbed soothingly against her back, his lips pressed against the top of her head because he was at a loss for words at the moment.

What could he possibly say to this girl? What could he possible say that he hadn't said to her before?

Her face was pressed against his shirt, her tears soaking through the thin material. Her words muffled against his chest. "He's not supposed to be another woman's husband. Our story can't possibly end like that, Nate. Him leaving me all those years ago... It can't end there. It just can't!"

He opened his mouth and said the only thing that came to mind. "I'm sorry..."

And Peyton cried harder as he continued to whisper his apologies, knowing that there was nothing left to say. And she clutched at him, like she had done those four years prior when Lucas had broke her heart. Now, he had not only broken her heart again but crushed her dream... The only dream that hadn't come true in Los Angeles, the dream that she had thought would eventually become reality when they returned to Tree Hill.

She had dreamt of becoming a Scott. Namely, she wanted to be Mrs. Lucas Scott.

But Lucas had effectively killed that dream with the wedding invitations he had sent, inviting them to attend the union of Lucas Scott and Lindsay Strauss...

And, who the hell was Lindsay Strauss, anyway, Nathan couldn't help but wonder as he held his best friend in his arms. While a part of him, a really big part of him, could care less about things concerning his brother, another smaller part of him, tiny in fact, wanted to put a face to the woman that had taken Peyton's place in the older Scott's life. Because then he would be able to express his condolences to her if she did in fact marry his brother. Lucas Scott wasn't worth it, and he just hoped that Peyton would realize that soon...

When she had cried herself to sleep, Nathan picked her up in his arms and carried her to her bedroom. Pulling the covers down before placing her in the middle of her bed. He pulled the covers over her sleeping form, tucking it around her body. "Things will get better, Sawyer," he whispered to her planting a light kiss on her forehead. "I'll make sure they will."

He watched her sleep for another minute before he returned to the other room. He picked up the shards of broken glass and mopped up the liquid that had pooled and scattered. He also decided to call Brooke back, and informed her of what had happened.

"So, what do we do now, Hot Shot?" she asked him after he had finished his story.

And he shrugged. "What we always do, Brooke. Whatever she wants. Whatever it takes."

The line was silent for a moment. A long moment where Nathan began to wonder if the call was dropped before she spoke again. "I"m getting on the next flight to Los Angeles, and I'll be bringing Rachel with me. Will you please call Chris and Jake and see if they're free? Peyton's gonna need all of us right now."

Nathan agreed, wishing Brooke a safe trip and to pass the sentiment on to Rachel before hanging up with her and quickly dialing the number of Chris Keller.

While Jake's friendship had been easy and expected, with their shared love of basketball and Peyton, befriending Rachel Gatina and Chris Keller were not on his list of things to do, but it had happened and he couldn't have asked for more loyal friends. They had been there since the school shooting, concerned about Peyton and grieving over the day's unexpected event (Chris had been there because he was scheduled to talk with the music department), and they hadn't left since.

But, while he and Peyton were in Los Angeles, and Jake was usually with them as well, but he had taken some time to visit his grandparents in Savannah, Georgia, Chris was touring the country and Rachel was with Brooke in New York.

Although they were in different parts of the country now, Brooke was right when she had said that Peyton would need them all. And Nathan knew them well enough to know that they would drop everything just to help their favorite curly haired blond.

"What's new, Nate?" Chris answered after the fourth ring.

"My brother's an ass." He replied and Chris chuckled on the other end.

"I asked you what was new; Lucas has always been an ass."

"Yeah, well, he's an even bigger ass than we gave him credit for."

"What the hell did he do this time?" All traces of humor were erased at that point.

"He's getting married, apparently."

"He sent you an invitation!" Chris asked incredulously.

"Yup."

Chris sighed on the other end. "Please tell me that Peyton didn't get one, too."

Nathan echoed his sigh. "She did, and Brooke, too. I'm gonna assume that Rachel has one, and that another one is laying in a pile on the floor of Jake's apartment."

Chris scoffed. "And, what, mine just got lost in the mail?"

Nathan smirked. "He never did like you."

"Oh, woe is me." Nathan could tell that he was rolling his eyes, it was typical Chris Keller, really. "But, enough about him... I'm actually on my way back to the hotel right now. I'll grab my stuff and hop on the next plane to LA."

"I didn't even ask you."

"You didn't have to, Nate. I care about Blondie, too."

"We all do. See you later."

"Later. Tell Blondie that I miss her!"

Nathan chuckled. "She's asleep right now and she probably won't be awake until much later so I'm sure you'll get the chance to tell her that yourself."

They exchanged a few more words before Nathan was able to call Jake.

"Hello?" Jake Jagielski's distracted voice answered.

Nathan arched an eyebrow. "You busy?"

"Nate?"

"Yeah. Should I call you some other time?" Nathan frowned at the voices in the background.

"No, no... It's fine. We just have family over and they've been gushing over how big Jenny has gotten. It was fine at first, but they've just been going on and on and on. I've just been keeping an eye on her, making sure that she's okay."

Nathan nodded. "I get it. But, I was actually wondering if you could come back to LA soon..."

"How soon?"

"Well, not right now, but sometime in the next couple of days or something. I know you were planning on spending the rest of the summer with your family, but..." Nathan trailed off.

"But what? Nate, what's going on?" Jake sounded both confused and worried.

"It's Peyton. She found out that Lucas is getting married and she's not taking it too well."

"Lucas is getting married?"

Nathan mumbled in the affirmative and next he strained to hear what was going on on Jake's side of the country. He heard Jake letting his family know that it was an emergency and he was needed back in LA and Nathan was grateful for their friendships. He didn't know many people that would drop everything for someone. The fact that he was able to call not only one but five of them (Peyton included) his friends amazed him.

"So I guess I'll see you soon?" he couldn't help but ask once Jake had gotten back on the phone.

Jake chuckled on the other end of the line. "Like I would want to be anywhere else in the world. Peyton needs us, and I'm not going to turn my back on that."

Nathan couldn't help but agree with his friend.

Author's Note: Hmm, I don't really know how I feel about this chapter, but would really like to know what everyone thinks. Please review, it'll be greatly appreciated. =D Also, let me know what you think about the story so far... It's still pretty slow, but it will pick up, I promise!


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